Probe against ED officer not likely to affect Aircel-Maxis investigation

ED joint director Rajeshwar Singh | YouTube

ED joint director Rajeshwar Singh has been accused of amassing disproportionate assets while investigating high-profile scams.

New Delhi: Tasked with several high-profile investigations like Aircel-Maxis, Enforcement Directorate (ED) joint director Rajeshwar Singh will now be investigated by the home ministry for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets.

A “mysterious” call from Dubai will also be looked into for possible security implications.

Clearing the decks for the probe earlier this week, the Supreme Court withdrew the interim protection from inquiry it had earlier granted the former encounter specialist, and said an officer probing high-profile cases should not be under a cloud.

The order led many to wonder whether an investigation against Singh would affect the cases he is tasked with. ThePrint explains the row.

Who is Rajeshwar Singh?

A provisional police service officer (PPS) of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Singh joined the ED in 2009 on deputation. He was initially repatriated to his parent cadre but reinstated by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). On CAT’s recommendation, he was permanently absorbed by the agency in 2015.

Singh, who comes from a family of bureaucrats, allegedly has an axe to grind against CBI special director Rakesh Asthana, who is said to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Currently, he is tasked with several big-ticket probes, including Aircel-Maxis, which stems from the 2G probe; the Commonwealth Games; and irregularities in coal block allocations. He is also investigating former finance minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti for the clearance given by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2006 to Global Communication Holding Services Ltd for an investment in Aircel.

Singh has played an active role in the investigation and filing of chargesheets in important cases, including Aircel-Maxis, the Sandesara Group case — an alleged Rs 50 billion bank fraud  involving a Gujarat-based pharma firm — and one pertaining to the controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who allegedly acted as an extortionist on behalf of former CBI directors A.P. Singh and Ranjit Sinha.

Also, the ED had reportedly recovered an undated internal CBI inquiry report in the Aircel-Maxis case at P. Chidambram’s residence in Chennai and questioned the leak, raising suspicions about the CBI’s integrity.

Charges against Singh

Disproportionate assets

• The first is a PIL by a man named Rajneesh Kapur, who claims to be an investigative journalist, alleging that Singh had amassed disproportionate assets while investigating fraud cases.
• Kapur has cited RTI replies to allege government land was given to Singh.
• The wealth in question includes a property allotted by the Lucknow Development Authority where the house owner’s name is the same as that of Singh’s wife.
• Other properties include a house in Noida and one he reportedly inherited from his grandfather.
• Following the PIL, Singh filed a petition against Kapur alleging attempts to scuttle the Aircel-Maxis probe.

‘Compromising national security’

• Singh is accused of receiving a call from Dubai, which an intelligence agency said in a report could lead to a breach of national security.
• The ED has defended Singh, saying the 2016 call was from a source with “important information” about the Aircel-Maxis case.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, the main petitioner in 2G-related cases, has also spoken up for Singh, accusing “(revenue secretary) Hasmukh Adhia-led Gang of Four” of trying to save Chidambaram by intimidating” the officer.

Know that the IO Rajeshwar Singh came first in the UPSC tests. PC gave Dy Dir post to No.2 to 5. So why not to No. 1?

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 8, 2014

He has also accused union finance minister Arun Jaitley of attempting to stall Singh’s investigation in the Aircel-Maxis case.

Government’s secret report against officer

When the SC sought the government’s response on the purported journalist’s plea, the finance ministry submitted a sealed-cover report prepared by a Cabinet secretary and sought the court’s nod to investigate Singh.

Neither the court nor the government revealed the contents of the report, but the judges observed that the allegations against Singh are “startling” and affect national security.

The vacation bench of justices Arun Mishra and S.K. Kaul, which had earlier questioned the petitioner’s motives, changed its line of questioning after going through the report. The court also denied Singh’s request that he be heard privately in the chamber and not in open court.

Rajeshwar’s defence

In the wake of the court’s nod for an inquiry against him, Singh lashed out at Adhia, asking if he had sided with “scamsters and their affiliates”.

Sent through ED chief Karnal Singh, the letter sought to know whether Singh’s “promotion was being delayed, national security compromised and scores settled because of an ego trip”. He had previously approached a court for his promotion.

Singh said Adhia was aware how he was being consistently hounded for standing up against the “selected few”, and had paid the price for doing what the law required him to do.

Where does it leave the Aircel-Maxis investigation?

Singh has stated that he will continue to investigate the Aircel-Maxis case. Various aspects of the case are being heard in three different courts — the Madras High Court, a special 2G court in Delhi and the Delhi High Court.

In March, the apex court had directed investigative agencies to complete the probe within six months. On 13 June, the ED filed a chargesheet against Karti but the investigation continues. A special court has, however, granted the father-son duo interim protection from arrest in the case until 10 July.

There is still a long way to go for a verdict. Once the investigation is complete, the trial court can frame charges against the accused or can discharge them if it finds no prima facie proof to back the allegations. However, if charges are accepted, a trial will take place.